Valve adjustment gone bad....

SkooterG · Dec 19, 2005

Took my FJR in for its 2nd valve adjustment last week. 55k on the clock. I try to do most of my own maintenance, but until somebody takes my hand and walks me through a valve adjustment, it's off to the dealer for that operation.

I use a local mom-n-pop Yamaha dealer. Just the two of them work there, him doing all the wrench work. He has been wrenching bikes for a long time and does good work. In the past, he did excellent work on my Harley and Concours.

Well, $387 for the valve adjustmet. Grumble, grumble.

Then, after short ride home, I later see puddle of oil on the garage floor. Turns out when the engine is running, its leaking like a sonofabitch on the right side, coming from the top of the engine. Obviously, something happend to the valve cover gasket on reassembly.

And then the kicker. He only stocks one of those gaskets, so he has to order another one. Will take about a week to get here. Then several more days to re-do all the dis-assembly and assembly.

What a pisser. It was in the low 70s today and I was suffering some major two-wheeled withdrawl as I drove my 13mpg gas hog of a truck around.

skyway · Dec 19, 2005

Oh boy, I know all too well the feeling of substandard workmanship. At least for the time being you know the oil in your engine in will be mighty clean.

HIGHLANDER · Dec 19, 2005

Now ya know how a Harley owner feels

It's just the FJR marking it territory

( sorry about the ****** joke, just trying to ease your pain

)

FJRZON · Dec 20, 2005

I try to do most of my own maintenance, but until somebody takes my hand and walks me through a valve adjustment, it's off to the dealer for that operation.

I could be wrong, but wasn't there someone back in the "Ezboard" days who was trying to construct a comprehensive FJR valve adjustment video on DVD? That would sure be a great resource for those who like to do their own maintenance. Sorry to hear about your mishap and I hope your ride heals/seals quickly.

radman · Dec 20, 2005

I have not done the adj on the Feej, but plenty on others. The Feej cover gasket has multiple potential leak sites, did he wreck it, is it new, or just improperly installed? The worst leak spots are the half circle plugs where the cutting bar cuts the cam mounts, at least this is a traditional bad spot. Most engines use a plug there, but it appears these are part of the gasket on this motor. If this is the case, they may have just been mis-seated.

zorkler · Dec 20, 2005

that sucks big time . tryed a new shop close to home for the 8 k check . ask the wrencher if he check the air filter he said it looks good also ask him where the filter was . hes reply was oh man i worked on so many bikes today that i am not sure asked him about the t.b.s and he said it was right on . you guessed it looked at the air filter he did not even clean it off and its my guess he did not even do the t.b.s . so i go back to the shop and ask the counter guy what is involved to do a proper 8k check up and could i see the yamaha manual we looked it over and nothing on cleaning the filter at 8 k and no t.b.s and 8k . so whats up

trimmantom · Dec 20, 2005

Hey zorkler,Get the motion pro or morgan throthlebody sync tool and do the job yourself.It is so easy and it takes longer to set up then do the actual sync.

It will give you a sense of accomplishment and you won't have to worry about some dimwit from whatever shop bullshitting you and you'll have the added bonus of knowing it's right.Go for it.

TheBlueStreak · Dec 20, 2005

Hey SkooterG, Have you ever had a "ticking" problem with your FJR?? Rob

slapnpop · Dec 20, 2005

I try to do most of my own maintenance, but until somebody takes my hand and walks me through a valve adjustment, it's off to the dealer for that operation.

Click to expand...

I could be wrong, but wasn't there someone back in the "Ezboard" days who was trying to construct a comprehensive FJR valve adjustment video on DVD? That would sure be a great resource for those who like to do their own maintenance. Sorry to hear about your mishap and I hope your ride heals/seals quickly.

I can shoot, edit, and burn DVD's if someone wants to come teach me the valve adjustment proceedure. I've done it on my SHO's, and it's was a fairly simple affair there. Worse part is getting to the cams.

Is the FJR a hydraulic valve with shims for adjustment?

Ramblin Man · Dec 20, 2005

Torch documented the proceedure with photos and a write up. The proceedure is a piece of cake but will take some time if you don't have the shims. Gary is the man there. The one thing I would add is once you have the cams lined up either zip tie the chain to the cams so when you move them they can't get off a tooth or use a sharpie or grease pencil and mark the chain and sprocket so it goes back in easier if you pull the cams out.

When you put the gasket back on, use sealer to mate it to the cover side only.

slapnpop · Dec 20, 2005

If they are indeed shim-based adjustable, I'd like to find out more info about shim size ranges and usage, etc. One of the cool services SHO specialists provide is a shim set rental. You basically put a deposit, and they ship you a wide range of shims, enough to do the job in one go. You ship back the leftovers, along with your removed shims. The good used shims are cleaned up and re-measured, and the bad ones are discarded, and you're only charged for the net shims you used. While the deposit is spendy, it was well worth minimizing the downtime on the SHO.

It might be something we could talk to Gary or some of the other parts vendors about, even if it's not exactly the same setup. Maybe they could be open to the possibility of stocking a couple/three "kits" where you use what you need, and send the rest back without opening. Food for thought!

Bananas · Dec 22, 2005

I have seen people use silicon sealant on the half moon seals. When the valve cover is

put back on and torqued down, the half moons, with the gooie silicon on them ,squirt out

of place. They are supposed to be put on dry. Don't ask me how I know.

Bananas!

Warchild · Dec 22, 2005

Torch documented the proceedure with photos and a write up.

That he did, and as you can see, it's not a trivial task. Especially if your measurements indicate you actually need to adjust the shims:

FJR1300 Valve Adjustment

radman · Dec 22, 2005

Torch documented the proceedure with photos and a write up.

Click to expand...

That he did, and as you can see, it's not a trivial task. Especially if your measurements indicate you actually need to adjust the shims:

FJR1300 Valve Adjustment

Thats just it. It seems most initial checks are just that-no adjust/shims needed. It would seem most don't need shims until #2 or #3. But notice the caveat-YMMV. Just checking clearance isn't all that involved a process.

FJRMGM · Dec 22, 2005

---> The worst leak spots are the half circle plugs where the cutting bar cuts the cam mounts, at least this is a traditional bad spot.

These are indeed "bad spots" and not just on Yamahas - I adjusted the valves on my Suzuki and had a leak there and I was being very , I thought, careful and thorough.

In my mind, this was not a "bad" valve adjustment cause nothing was bent, broken or ruined.

Oil leaks happen.

Valve adjustment gone bad....

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